1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to method and apparatus for controlling caloric intake, and, more particularly, to method and apparatus for controlling daily caloric intake by dividing foods into groups and determining caloric intake by equating caloric intake to food counts and using tear-off tabs to keep track of the caloric intake.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Diets of various kinds are, of course, well known and understood in the prior art. There are many kinds or types of diets, each claiming advantages over others or claiming specific advantages. The purpose of diets is to control caloric intake and to limit caloric intake to a predetermined maximum. Different kinds of diets provide not only different caloric intakes, but different types of foods for different purposes. For example, diabetics require one kind of diet, while a person suffering from obesity may require a different type of diet. A person having a particular physical ailment accordingly needs a diet or caloric intake, or both, which is directly related to the specific ailment. Some diets allow a person to eat almost any type of food, but simply control the quantity of food eaten. Other types of diets are designed to provide specific kinds of foods that may be eaten and to prevent other kinds of foods from being eaten.
For many diabetics, the control of calories is extremely important, but also important are the kinds of foods used to provide the desired calories. Thus, eating a well balanced diet is important, and limiting oneself to a predetermined number of calories from each of several food groups may be equally important.
Since a person typically eats three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and supper, keeping track of the various food groups and calories involved may be difficult, particularly when one is not always in an environment where record keeping or prefixed meals are available. For example, a person typically eats breakfast and supper at home, but may eat lunch away from home, such as on the job. Restaurant eating either at lunch or supper provides an additional problem both in keeping track of calories and food groups.
The apparatus of the present invention provides a system of keeping track of caloric intake as divided into several food groups. This is accomplished by using lists of foods broken down into food groups and equating sized portions of food with specific caloric values equated as food units or counts. Tabs which may be torn from a card show the allowable food counts or units to be eaten from each food group during a day. A card may include a predetermined caloric intake, such as fifteen hundred calories, twelve hundred calories, eighteen hundred calories, etc., depending on the circumstances. For illustrative purposes herein, a fifteen hundred calorie intake is illustrated.
The use of tabs for various purposes is old in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,072,627 discloses a streetcar ticket which includes a number of tabs. The tabs each represent a particular quantity or amount of money. The tabs may be torn off from the ticket as they are used to pay for streetcar rides.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,132,641 discloses a coupon book which contains a plurality of coupons. Each coupon represents a particular amount of money. The coupons are removed and are used as cash for merchandise or services.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,325,477 discloses a ticket sheet representing price tags. Each ticket may be torn off and used as money towards the purchase price of an article specified on the particular ticket. Each ticket is thus good for a certain amount of money towards the purchase of a particular, predetermined or predefined, product.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,385,425 discloses another type of ticket on which are printed different values representing money. The tickets or ticket portions may be torn off and used as money.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,396,288 discloses another type of ticket similar to that of the U.S. Pat. No. 1,385,425. The tickets indicate different amounts of money, and the ticket portions or tabs are removed to indicate the amount of money owed by a purchaser. That is, the ticket portions are not torn off and used as money, rather the remaining portions of the ticket represent the amount of money owed by a purchaser. The purchaser accordingly owes the lowest amount of money indicated on the remaining portion of the ticket.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,368,467 discloses a tally tablet for tabulating the amount of money deposited into a bank or the like. A number of tabs, corresponding to different denominations of money, are included in the apparatus. When a coin or a number of coins are deposited, tabs corresponding to the amount or value of the coins deposited are removed from the tally tablet to provide a record of the amount of money deposited.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,337,405 discloses a tearing guide designed for ration book stamps. The purpose of the guide apparatus is to help a user of ration books tear off stamps in a neat, orderly manner, without tearing adjacent stamps.
None of the above-described patents discloses apparatus comparable to the tabulating system of the present invention. However, they do reflect generally the concept that tabs or stamps may be torn off from a card, page, or the like, for purposes of record keeping.